Business as usual at MCIA despite Immigration woes

Tourist arrivals at the Mactan–Cebu International Airport (MCIA) are processed smoothly at the Immigration desk despite lack of Immigration personnel.
CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO

It is business as usual at the Mactan–Cebu International Airport (MCIA) amid a manpower shortage hounding the Immigration bureau due to mass leaves and resignations of its personnel.

MCIA on Wednesday said Immigration processing of passengers at the gateway remains consistent and unchanged, contrary to the situation at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) where long queues at Immigration desks are becoming problematic.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely, but as of now, there is no need for concern. We remain in close coordination with the (Bureau of Immigration) for any changes in the future,” the airport said in a statement sent to Cebu Daily News.

In an Inquirer report earlier this week, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II was said to have blamed the long line of travelers at Naia on President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to stop the overtime pay of BI officers at airports.

Aguirre said the President’s directive had led to resignations in the bureau and that the situation was expected to get worse with more employees filing notices of departure.

The secretary disclosed that 32 Immigration officers had left since January after Duterte banned the bureau from using funds collected from airport express lanes for overtime pay.

More than 3,000 of its personnel have been on leave as of February 17 following the suspension of payment of their overtime pay as Immigration officers in airport counters.

However, the second busiest gateway in the Philippines does not seem affected.

Dakota Mammi, a tourist from Japan, said she did not encounter any problems at the MCIA’s Immigration area.

“I did not wait so long,” she said when asked about her experience while lining up at the Immigration desk.

Her flight landed at the MCIA around 1:35 p.m. from Narita, Japan.

Others on the same flight as Mammi interviewed by CDN said they “did not encounter problems” and that they waited in line “for only one minute.”

On average, there are 100 domestic one-way flights and 29 international one-way flights through MCIA every week.

For 2017, the airport targets to hit the 10-million passenger mark from 8.8 million passengers last year.

MCIA said it cannot speak on behalf of the BI as to the status of their staffing, but it was committed to working with all of the airport community to ensure an expedient passenger experience.

According to an Inquirer report on Wednesday, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente ordered the deployment of 171 additional Immigration personnel to the country’s airports during the Holy Week as a measure to address the shortage of manpower.

BI spokesperson Antonette Mangrobang said the contingency plan will take effect on April 9, Palm Sunday, and throughout the Holy Week in anticipation of the high volume of passenger traffic in airports.

Of the 171 personnel to be deployed, 150 will be assigned to the Naia while the rest will be stationed at other international airports in Cebu, Davao and Iloilo.

These Immigration officers will be composed of division, section and unit chiefs, Immigration officers at the BI main office in Intramuros and subports, and other Immigration personnel.

Although the Naia is the only one affected by leaves and resignations of Immigration personnel, the BI is also preparing for an influx in passengers in other international airports as well.